Athletes to Watch at Gymnastics Trials

SI Staff | Jul 9, 2012

Athletes to Watch at Gymnastics Trials /

Athletes to Watch at Gymnastics Trials

Jordyn Wieber

Wieber is already a very accomplished gymnast at the age of 16. The 2011 all-around world champion has won both the U.S. senior national championship and the American Cup championship twice. She has been on the women's national team since 2006, when she was just 10 years old, and in her competitive career she has earned 13 gold medals, one silver, and two bronzes.

Gabby Douglas

Just like her teammate Wieber, Douglas is also 16 years old. She has been on the national team since 2010 and was a member of the team that took home gold at the world championships in Tokyo last year. She has earned many of her medals (four) on the uneven bars but has also done extensive training with Liang Chow, who coached 2008 Olympic balance beam champion Shawn Johnson.

Aly Raisman

Raisman is an 18-year-old out of Needham, Mass. She has been on the national team since she was 15, and has accumulated a large stack of medals (18 total). She is seeking her first Olympic berth.

Nastia Liukin

People will recognize Liukin from the 2008 Olympics, where she was the individual all-around champion. She was also the world champion on the balance beam and the uneven bars in 2005 and won gold on the balance beam again in 2007. She has nine world championship medals, seven of which are individual. Liukin is tied for second on the all-time world championship medal count and will be looking to make her second Games.

Alicia Sacramone

Sacramone is the team's oldest competitor at 24. She has been on the women's national team since 2003, and is the most decorated U.S gymnast in the history of the world championships. Her overall medal count in professional competition puts her at 16 gold's, eight silvers, and eight bronzes.

Jonathan Horton

Horton is a 27-year-old gymnast who attended University of Oklahoma. During his collegiate career he won three NCAA team titles, won 18 career All-America honors and six NCAA individual titles. In the 2008 Olympics he won the silver medal on the horizontal bars and pushed Team USA to a team bronze.

Danell Leyva

Leyva is a Cuban-American gymnast, born in Cuba in 1991. In 2009 he became the youngest member of the U.S. national senior team when he was only 17 years old. That same year he won the gold medal on the horizontal bars and the silver on the parallel bars. In 2011, he was the U.S national all-around gold medalist and the 2011 world champion on the parallel bars. As a high bar specialist, Leyva has a lot of Olympic potential for this summer.

John Orozco

The 19-year-old out of New York City competed for the senior national team for the first time two years ago. He had a prolific junior career, tallying up 14 gold medals, two silvers and two bronzes in three different events in San Jose, Dallas and Houston. He was a member of the men's national team that took home the bronze in 2011 in Tokyo, and later that year, Orozco edged out teammate Danell Leyva for all-around gold at the U.S. national championships.

Jake Dalton

A 20-year-old out of Reno, Nev., Dalton also attended the University of Oklahoma, where he earned All-America honors and took home the NCAA men's gymnastics floor and vault titles in 2011. He won the gold medal at the U.S. national championship for the vault in 2009, and again in 2011. He was also awarded the gold medal for his performance on the floor at the same competition.

Sam Mikulak

Currently attending the University of Michigan, Mikulak has been doing gymnastics ever since he was 2 years old. In 2011, he was the NCAA all-around champion and also won the floor exercise bronze medal. In 2012, he was the NCAA high bar champion and the all-around silver medalist. Competing in the 2012 Winter Cup challenge, he won the silver medal in the parallel bars. Most recently, he was awarded the silver medal for the parallel bars at the U.S national championship, as well as the all-around bronze medal.

Published Jul 9, 2012

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